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WELCOMES From the track and the Championships CIRCUIT MAP Find your way around the facility TIMETABLE What’s on and where! CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS A success story! WEC Preview of the World Endurance Championship FAST LAP Lucas Luhr describes a lap of the circuit PROFILE Mr Le Mans, Tom Kristensen ALMS Preview of the ALMS race DYSON 30 years of success RACES WITHIN A RACE An inside look at ALMS IMSA GT3 CUP Preview COOPER TIRES PROTOTYPE LITES Preview DELTA WING A new kind of race car CALENDAR The races left this season
o t e m o c l We exas !
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FRIDAY 7:30 am GATES OPEN 8:00 am - 9:00 am Practice #1 - ALMS (All Classes) 9:15 am - 10:45 am Free Practice #1 - FIA WEC 11:00 am - 11:30 am Public Driver Fan Forum – ALMS (ALMS Paddock – Near ALMS VIP Club) 11:10 am - 11:40 am RACE #1 - LITES - 30 MINUTES 12:40 pm - 1:40 pm Practice #2 - ALMS (All Classes) 1:50 pm - 2:05 pm Qualifying - ALMS (GTC) 2:10 pm - 2:25 pm Qualifying - ALMS (GT) 2:35 pm - 2:50 pm Qualifying - ALMS (PC) 2:55 pm - 3:10 pm Qualifying - ALMS (P1/P2) 3:25 pm - 4:55 pm Free Practice #2 - FIA WEC 5:15 pm - 6:00 pm RACE #1 - GT3 CUP - 45 MINUTES 6:30 pm GATES CLOSE
SATURDAY
EVENT
Schedule
7:30 am GATES OPEN 8:00 am - 8:25 am Warm Up - ALMS (All Classes) 8:40 am - 9:40 am Free Practice #3 - FIA WEC 10:05 am - 10:50 am RACE #2 - LITES - 45 MINUTES 11:15 am - 12:00 pm RACE #2 - GT3 CUP - 45 MINUTES 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Public Driver Autograph Session - ALMS (Paddock – ALMS Team Transporters) 12:00 pm - 12:20 pm Sportbike Freestyle Demonstration by Aaron Colton (Grand Plaza) 12:40 pm - 1:00 pm Public Live Auction - Risi Competizione Ferrari GT Team Transporter (ALMS Paddock) 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm PUBLIC DRIVER AUTOGRAPH SESSION – LITES AND GT3 CUP (ALMS PADDOCK – NEAR ALMS VIP CLUB) 1:00 pm - 1:25 pm Qualifying - FIA WEC (LMGTE-PRO/LMGTE-AM) 1:35 pm - 2:00 pm Qualifying - FIA WEC (LMP1/LMP2) 2:15 pm - 2:35 pm Sportbike Freestyle Demo by Aaron Colton (Turn 15) 2:15 pm - 2:35 pm Drifting Demonstration by Formula DRIFT (Front Stretch) 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Public Grid Walk – ALMS (Access from Paddock) 3:45 pm - 6:30 pm Race - American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patrón (Round 8) – 2 Hours 45 Minutes 6:30 pm - 6:50 pm Sportbike Freestyle Demonstration by Aaron Colton (Grand Plaza) 7:30 pm GATES CLOSE
SUNDAY 8:00 am GATES OPEN 8:30 am - 9:40 am Public Pit Walk - FIA WEC (Pit Lane - Access from Paddock) 9:00 am - 9:30 am Public Driver Autograph Session – FIA WEC (Pit Lane – Access from Paddock) 9:30 am - 9:45 am Sportbike Freestyle Demonstration by Aaron Colton (Front Stretch) 9:30 am - 9:45 am Drifting Demonstration by Formula DRIFT (Turn 15) 10:30 am - 10:50 am Sportbike Freestyle Demonstration by Aaron Colton (Grand Plaza) 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Race - FIA WEC - 6 Hours 2:00 pm - 2:20 pm Sportbike Freestyle Demonstration by Aaron Colton (Grand Plaza) 5:05 pm - 5:35 pm Public Track Walk (Front Straight Only - Access from Main Grandstand East and West Sides) 6:00 pm GATES CLOSE
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Kids Festival Attractions (Support Paddock)
CIRCUIT OF THE
Americas . . . s t s r i f f o y r a e -a
he $400-million state-of-the-art facility got off to a remarkable start with its opening event, the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX. Drawing 265,499 people over a three-day event, the Circuit's inaugural Grand Prix was the second-most attended Formula 1 event during the season and proved to be a successful return for F1 to the United States. The pinnacle of motor racing brought with it the best drivers and teams-many backed by multinational corporations-as well as the glamour, celebrities and excitement associated with this globally recognized weekend of racing. Reaction to the event was so spectacular that it was named by
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SportsBusiness Journal/Daily as the 2012 "Sports Event of the Year". The spring of 2013 brought more firsts to the Circuit, in both motorsports and live entertainment, all of which proved to be great successes. In March, Circuit of The Americas hosted the inaugural GRANDAM of The Americas, which concluded in a storybook ending to a perfectly scripted weekend of competition. Three teams with Lone Star State connections earned three pole positions and won three of the day's four races. April brought another exciting first with the first two-wheeled World Championship to hit the Circuit, the 2013 Red Bull MotoGP of The Americas. A robust crowd of 131,082 witnessed the
debut of World Championship motorcycle racing during the three-day event, and celebrated with rookie Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez as he became the youngest rider in MotoGP history to win a Grand Prix. The V8 Supercars Austin 400 rounded out the Circuit's spring season as 68,891 fans attended the three-day event, which was marked by record temperatures in the mid '90s. More excitement was going on at the Circuit away from the 3.4-mile racing surface with the opening of the Austin360 Amphitheater. The impressive entertainment space had its much-anticipated grand opening on April 5 as country music's No. 1 ticket seller, Kenny Chesney, delivered a
sellout performance and set high expectations for the many concerts to come to the 14,000seat capacity outdoor Amphitheater. Summer got off to an exciting start as Circuit of The Americas put away the red carpet and rolled out the half-pipe with its bid to host the spring/summer edition of the ESPN X Games beginning in May 2014. After a lengthy and competitive bid process against Charlotte, N.C., Chicago and Detroit, and a massive ESPN X Games Rally at the Texas State Capitol that drew thousands in support, Austin won the bid to host the multi-day action sport competition for four years. Fall brings with it the Circuit's first endurance motorsports event, drawing sports car fans from around the world to the
International SportsCar Weekend Sept. 2022. The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr贸n and the World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours at Circuit of The Americas are expected to show off their respective drivers' speed and stamina through the three days of incredible racing. The new Austin racetrack will round out its first full year of operation with a visit from the U.S. Vintage National Championship in late October and the return of F1 racing in mid-November. The Circuit's freshman season has been a remarkable ride and a spectacular start to what motorsports fans believe will be America's new home for World Championship motorsports and firstclass entertainment. z
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SITUATED OVER 1,300 ACRES OF LAND JUST SOUTHEAST OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, TEXAS, CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS IS THE COUNTRY'S NEWEST DESTINATION FOR WORLD-CLASS MOTORSPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND AS THE VENUE APPROACHES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY, THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT TEAM IS CELEBRATING A YEAR OF FIRSTS.
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'AUDI IS NOW IN ITS 15TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON IN THE LMP RANKS' ... n 1 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST AUDI R18 E-TRON QUATTRO
WORLD COMES TO AUSTIN 6 HOURS OF CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
s n i k t a W y r by Ga
THIS WEEKEND SEES THE FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP TOUCH DOWN IN TEXAS FOR THE FIRST TIME
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LMP1
Audi and Toyota continue the rivalry that began at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012 and burst into life over the second half of last year's re-born FIA World Endurance Championship. Newcomer Toyota didn't just win three of the final four rounds of the championship, it thumped the established kings of Le Mans-style endurance racing. Toyota has returned with an update of its TS030 HYBRID LMP1 contender and started out with a two-car attack over the opening three rounds of the championship. The plan was always to concentrate on just one car after Le Mans, despite filing two full-season entries, and that car will be handled here, as it was at Sao Paulo in Brazil at the start of September, by Anthony Davidson, Stephane Sarrazin and Sebastien Buemi.
They got the option over team-mates Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima, because they were the bestplaced Toyota drivers in the points table in the wake of Le Mans. Audi, which is now in its 15th consecutive season in the LMP ranks, has also returned with a revised version of the R18 e-tron quattro that claimed the WEC drivers' and manufacturer's titles last season. It fields two full-season entries, one for reigning World Champions Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler and the other for runners-up Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, who are this year joined by Loic Duval. Kristensen, McNish and Duval won the series opener at Silverstone in April, before the reigning champions turned the tables on them at Spa the following month. f
'TOYOTA GAVE A DEBUT TO THE HIGH-DOWNFORCE VERSION OF TS030 AT THE LAST ROUND IN SAO PAULO' ...
f Kristensen and his team-mates then gained the upper hand in the championship race with victory at the double-points Le Mans round after the Lotterer car was delayed and finished only fifth. Toyota struggled over the first three races of the season. It went up against the 2013-spec Audi at Silverstone with last year's TS030 and took only one of its new cars to Spa. Both times the Davidson/Sarrazin/ Buemi car finished behind the flotilla of Audis, which grew to three entries at Spa. Toyota then ended up second at Le Mans, with Davidson and his crew just one lap down on the winning Audi. Toyota gave a debut to the highdownforce version of TS030 at the last round in Sao Paulo, which its drivers were expecting to bring them closer to Audi on the type of tracks on which last year's car had the upper hand.
"I do expect us to be closer to Audi than at Silverstone, Spa and Le Mans," says Briton Davidson. "But will we have the same advantage that we enjoyed last year? I doubt it. "We are in a no-pressure situation. We are going to drive flat-out and do the same job that we did at Le Mans to try to keep the championship open." Audi isn't expecting to have things all its own way. Kristensen has pointed out the benefits of Toyota's hybrid system over the tighter circuits that make up the second half of the season. LMP1 rules restrict the hybrid punch from the Audi's front-axle energyretrieval system from being deployed until the car reaches 120km/h (approximately 75mph), whereas there is no restriction for the Toyota, which harvests braking energy and returns it to the track via the rear wheels. f
n 51 AF CORSE FERRARI 458 ITALIA
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8 TOYOTA RACING TOYOTA TS030 – HYBRID 28 GULF RACING MIDDLE EAST LOLA B12/80
n 12 REBELLION RACING LOLA TOYOTA B12/60 COUPÉ TOYOTA
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r RACE START SAO PAULO
. . . t r a t r ace
Only one privateer LMP1 team takes on the factory big guns over the second half of the 2013 WEC. The Anglo-Swiss Rebellion Racing squad, winner of the privateers' teams title last year, is on its own after the withdrawal of the Strakka Racing outfit, which called time on its 2013 campaign after ending up as top independent team in sixth place overall at Le Mans. Rebellion fields its solo Lola-Toyota B12/60 here for a line-up made up of ex-Formula 1 driver Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost, the son of four-time F1 World Champion Alain, and Switzerland's Mathias Beche, who has graduated to the P1 ranks after winning last year's European Le Mans Series. Meanwhile 'Ant' Davidson is looking forward to racing for the first time here in Texas. "I've driven the track extensively on a simulator and it looks like it is going to be a great circuit for our kind of cars," he says. "I'm sure all the drivers are going to enjoy it." f
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lass of 2013
s n a M e L @ e g Audi Gara
...
f Nurburgring 24 Hours winner Nicki
Thiim has replaced Allan Simonsen, who was tragically killed at Le Mans, alongside Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen in the all-Danish line-up. Britons Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall join German Roald Goethe in the team's second car. Ferrari is represented by three one-car teams running 458 Italias. Krohn Racing, the only true American team racing in the FIA WEC this season, has a car for team owner and Houston resident Tracy Krohn, US-based Swede Niclas Jonsson and Maurizio Mediani. The 8Star Motorsports Ferrari is shared by team owner Enzo Potolicchio, who put together the assault that won last year's WEC LMP2 crown under the Starworks banner, and Ferrari specialists Rui Aguas and Davide Rigon. The car races under the Stars and Stripes, although it is run by the Italian AF Corse. AF runs a second car under its own name for two more Ferrari regulars in Matt Griffin and Marco Cioci and South African gentleman racer Jack Gerber. Proton Competition and Imsa Performance fly the flag for Porsche with their respective 996-shape 911 GT3RSRs. The Proton line-up is led by Paolo Ruberti, who is joined by Gianluca Roda and team owner Christian Reid. Imsa, which is based up the road from Le Mans in Rouen in Northern France, also has the
n 57 KROHN RACING FERRARI 458 ITALIA team boss among its roster of drivers, with Raymond Narac teaming up with Porsche Scholarship driver Jean-Karl Vernay and French gentleman Christophe Bourret. The Danish-driven Aston won first time out at Silverstone, the 8Star car took the honours at Spa, before Imsa notched up its second Le Mans class victory in June. Fifty
points for victory in the 24 Hours put Narac and Vernay ahead in the points (Bourret didn't complete sufficient driving time at Spa to score), but consistent finishing from Larbre left Bornhauser and Canal only three points behind. Campbell-Walter, who lay fifth in the points after Le Mans, is predicting another close battle in GTE Am.
AD n 96 ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE GTE "Our Danish team-mates have to be the hot favorites after the pace they have shown all year," he explains. "The Aston should be more competitive on circuits like COTA than it was at Le Mans: we have very good downforce, but we were so good down the long Mulsanne Straight. "We're only 19 points behind, so we've got to keep scoring and see where that takes us. The 8Star Ferrari will be strong, partly because Enzo is arguably the best true gentleman driver in the series at the moment." z
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T S I L ENTRY No
LMP 1
Country
Tire
Car
Driver 1 / Driver 2 / Driver 3
1 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST
DEU M Audi R18 e-tron quattro
André Lotterer DEU Benoit Tréluyer FRA Marcel Fässler CHE
2 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST
DEU M Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Tom Kristensen DNK Loïc Duval FRA Allan McNish GBR
8 TOYOTA RACING
JPN M Toyota TS030 – HYBRID
Anthony Davidson GBR Sébastien Buemi CHE Stéphane Sarrazin FRA
12 REBELLION RACING
CHE M Lola Toyota B12/60
Toyota Nicolas Prost FRA Nick Heidfeld DEU Mathias Beche CHE
No
LMP 2
Country
Tire
Car
Driver 1 / Driver 2 / Driver 3
24 OAK RACING
FRA D
Morgan Nissan LMP2
Olivier Pla FRA David Heinemeier Hansson DNK Alex Brundle GBR
25 DELTA-ADR
GBR D
ORECA 03 Nissan
Tor Graves GBR James Walker GBR Robbie Kerr GBR
26 G-DRIVE RACING
RUS D
ORECA 03 Nissan
Roman Rusinov RUS John Martin AUS Mike Conway GBR
31 LOTUS
CZE D
Lotus-Praga T128
Kevin Weeda USA Christophe Bouchut FRA James Rossiter GBR
32 LOTUS
CZE D
Lotus-Praga T128
Thomas Holzer DEU Dominik Kraihamer AUT Jan Charouz CZE
35 OAK RACING
FRA D
Morgan Nissan LMP2
Bertrand Baguette BEL Ricardo Gonzalez MEX Martin Plowman GBR
41 GREAVES MOTORSPORT
GBR D
Zytek Z11SN Nissan
Christian Zugel DEU Gunnar Jeannette °
45 OAK RACING
FRA D
Morgan Nissan LMP2
Jacques Nicolet FRA Jean-Marc Merlin FRA TBA
49 PECOM RACING
ARG M ORECA 03 Nissan
No
GTE PRO
Country
Tire
Car
Luis Perez Companc ARG Nicolas Minassian FRA Pierre Kaffer DEU Driver 1 / Driver 2 / Driver 3
51 AF CORSE
ITA M Ferrari 458 Italia
Gianmaria Bruni ITA Giancarlo Fisichella ITA
71 AF CORSE
ITA M Ferrari 458 Italia
Kamui Kobayashi JPN Toni Vilander FIN
91 PORSCHE AG TEAM MANTHEY
DEU M Porsche 911 RSR
Jörg Bergmeister DEU Patrick Pilet FRA
92 PORSCHE AG TEAM MANTHEY
DEU M Porsche 911 RSR
Marc Lieb DEU Richard Lietz AUT
97 ASTON MARTIN RACING
GBR M Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Stefan Mücke DEU Darren Turner GBR
98 ASTON MARTIN RACING
GBR M Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Paul Dalla Lana CAN Pedro Lamy PRT Richie Stanaway NZL
99 ASTON MARTIN RACING
GBR M Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Bruno Senna BRA Rob Bell GBR
No
GTE AM
Country
Tire
Car
Driver 1 / Driver 2 / Driver 3
50 LARBRE COMPETITION
FRA M Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
Patrick Bornhauser FRA Julien Canal FRA Fernando Rees BRA
57 KROHN RACING
USA M Ferrari 458 Italia
Tracy Krohn USA Niclas Jönsson SWE Maurizio Mediani ITA
61 AF CORSE
ITA M Ferrari 458 Italia
Jack Gerber ZAF Matt Griffin IRL Marco Cioci ITA
76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT
FRA M Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
Raymond Narac FRA Jean-Karl Vernay FRA Christophe Bourret FRA
81 8 STAR MOTORSPORTS
USA M Ferrari 458 Italia
Vicente Potolicchio VEN Rui Aguas PRT Davide Rigon ITA
88 PROTON COMPETITION
DEU M Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
Christian Ried DEU Gianluca Roda ITA Paolo Ruberti ITA
95 ASTON MARTIN RACING
GBR M Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Christoffer Nygaard DNK Kristian Poulsen DNK Nicki Thiim DNK°
96 ASTON MARTIN RACING
GBR M Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Stuart Hall GBR Jamie Campbell-Walter GBR
by jeremy shaw fter you go past the start/finish line, it’s funny because on television it doesn’t look like it but it’s a massive, massive hill going up to Turn One. We were doing around 165 mph on the front straight when we tested here last year, and it’s quite a feeling when you aim for the sky before you hit the brakes for the first corner. Obviously, it makes the braking easier because you’re going steeply uphill, but then as you approach the apex on the left side, the track falls back down so the critical part is where you go over the transition of the hill towards the flat section. This is also where the car goes into understeer a little bit, then snaps to oversteer just because the track is transitioning. This is first gear, a very slow corner, around 45 mph, but it’s difficult to get right. “From Turn One you just accelerate downhill from there towards the Esses which I think is
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34-YEAR-OLD GERMAN LUCAS LUHR HAS WON 46 RACES (IN JUST 91 STARTS) SINCE MAKING HIS DEBUT IN 2000 AND, AT THE WHEEL OF MUSCLE MILK PICKETT RACING’S NO. 6 HPD ARX-03C P1 CAR, HAS RECENTLY SECURED A SIXTH ALMS CHAMPIONSHIP. SO WE COULD THINK OF NO ONE BETTER TO TALK US AROUND A LAP OF CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS…
FAST LAP l r h u s l a c u h t wi
the best part of the track. Turn Two is easily flat in our car – it’s not even a corner; you don’t think about it – but then you go into the Esses, which is very tricky. It’s taken in fifth gear. The first part is flat and then it’s just a series of little lifts off the throttle and it’s very tricky to find the apex for the next corners. If you don’t get the first apex right in Three, you’re going to mess up all the way through, so this is the most challenging part of the track and also the quickest part of the track, corneringwise. It’s definitely the most fun. The other thing about this complex of corners is you cannot really overtake until you get to that little straight before the hairpin, so it’s easy to get stuck behind the traffic. Because it’s only one line, you’re going to see a lot of try-toovertake-but-it’s-not-going-to-happen kind of thing in the race! “The Complex basically sets you up for a little bit of a straight – and it’s what I describe as a typical Formula 1 track
which means it’s very wide and then it goes to a tight hairpin. It’s quite hard to find a reference point. The hairpin at Turn 11 is first gear again, and then you accelerate all the way to sixth gear for the long back straight. We will reach a maximum speed of around 175mph, and the difficult part is to get the brakes up to temperature before Turn 12. Because it’s such a long straight, the brakes have cooled off dramatically. Then it’s very hard braking, down to first gear, and it’s also quite difficult to see the apex again because the track is very, very wide and also the corner, from your view in the race car, seems to be quicker and wider than it actually is. “Then you go into the infield section, Turns 13–14–15, which is pretty slow to medium-speed. There is nothing tricky there for the driver but I’m sure it will be exciting for the fans. The next section is fast again. You come around a triple-apex right-hander, which is almost flat in fifth gear, and then you
have to do a little brake going downhill into the left-hander at Turn 19. I’m sure a lot of cars will go off there because it’s a very fine line where the grip is – and also the track from mid-corner towards the exit is a little bit off-camber so it’s just very, very difficult to get it right and you have to s-q-u-e-e-z-e the car to the inside to actually hit the right line. After that you go a little bit downhill, a little bit back uphill again and that takes you into the last corner which is second gear and then you’re back again to start/finish. “The track was pretty new when we tested there – before the Formula 1 race last year – so the grip level wasn’t very high, but I expect that to be much better now the circuit has been used quite a bit more. I think they did a very, very good job on the track. It has a lot of elevation change and they did a good job in mixing up the slow stuff, medium and high-speed corners, so I think it’s going to be an interesting race for the sports cars.” z
‘IT’S QUITE A FEELING WHEN YOU AIM FOR THE SKY BEFORE YOU HIT THE BRAKES FOR THE FIRST CORNER...’ LUCAS LUHR
M l e . r m s n i k t a W y r a G by
TOM KRISTENSEN ISN'T JUST THE GREATEST SPORTSCAR DRIVER OF HIS GENERATION, BUT THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME...
he Audi driver's tally of victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans increased to nine this year - is testament to that. Yet his successes go beyond those he has notched up in France on the middle weekend in June. He has also won the 12 Hours of Sebring a total of six times and been an American Le Mans Series Champion. And, in 2013, he has the chance to add a world title to his list of achievements. Kristensen, now 46, admits that he sometimes has to pinch himself when he scrolls down his aimpressive sportscar resume. "From where I come from in Denmark," he says, "I would never have allowed myself to talk about winning Le Mans, let alone scoring eight or nine victories." No one could have predicted what he would go on to achieve when he first pitched up at Le Mans for the start of his sportscar career proper in 1997. The Dane, then leading the
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Formula 3000 International Championship (the last openwheeler step on the ladder to F1), got the call to race the Joest team's privateer Porsche prototype just three days before scrutineering was due to begin. A week later, he had joined the roll-call of debutant Le Mans winners, impressing along the way with a string of fastest race laps - all set during the night... Kristensen immediately clicked with the track that would make him a household name in his homeland and beyond. His starring performance alongside veterans Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson came despite his experience of the track totaling just 17 laps before the race started. It is a little known fact that Kristensen had to leave Le Mans to take part in an F3000 test at the A1-Ring (now the Red Bull Ring) in Austria on the day of second qualifying, and had to pay team owner Rheinhold Joest for the privilege of using his plane! f
. . . s n a
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s 1 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA AUDI R10 TDI , SEBRING 2008 f Victory at Le Mans with the privateer Joest team opened doors for Kristensen, who admits that his focus as a young up-and-comer had never been solely on reaching Formula 1.
"I'd always thought that sportscars would be my future, because with F1 you are never in charge of your own destiny," says Kristensen, who already had experience of sportscar racing
from his five-year stint as a paid professional in Japan. "I knew I just needed a chance to prove myself, but before Le Mans '97, it was difficult to even speak to the right people. f
'... HE JOINED AUDI'S REPRESENTATIVE IN NORTH AMERICA, CHAMPION RACING' ...
f This year was mentally the toughest: I have never been more focused and determined to win. But if you have to pick the best one, then it is 2008, because no one would have put money on us." Kristensen, McNish and Italian Rinaldo 'Dindo' Capello, a two-time ALMS champion, won the race against the faster Peugeots that year, courtesy of a combination of flat-out driving, wetweather prowess and tactical acumen. This year's triumph came against the backdrop of early problems for the other two Audis, which meant it was left to Kristensen, McNish and Loic Duval to fend off the challenge from Toyota in a
Tom K
race held in ever-changing conditions. That victory put Kristensen and his team-mates at the top of the FIA World Endurance Championship points table. A world title, he admits, would be a nice addition to his resume. "A World Championship is an important title that I want to win," he explains. "It has to be the goal after winning Le Mans, but we have to take each race as it comes." There's also the little matter of rounding off his tally at Le Mans. "Now I'm now on nine Le Mans victories, I guess I am allowed to speak about 10," he says. "I am absolutely determined to go to Le Mans again next year and, each year I go, I want to win." z
n e s n e rist
'I'D ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT SPORTSCARS WOULD BE MY FUTURE' ...
'THE DELTAWING WAS DEVELOPED FOR THE 2012 LE MANS 24 HOURS RACE' ...
n 1&2 AUDI R18 E-TRON QUATTRO
hree of the classes (P1, P2 and PC) are comprised of "prototype" sports cars purpose-built racing machines - while the remaining two, GT and GTC, are derivatives of so-called Grand Touring Cars designed originally for the open roads. Each car will be shared by two drivers during Saturday's two-hour-and45-minute race. There will be some alterations to this successful formula in time for the 2014 season as the ALMS is merged with the Rolex Sports Car Series to form United SportsCar Racing, and the overwhelming feeling from within the sports-car community is that the changes will be fundamentally for the better. Until then, three races remain this season, commencing with this weekend's inaugural visit to the Circuit of The Americas - and most of the championship battles remain finely poised. The fastest and most sophisticated cars on the grid can be found in the P1 class. These are among the most
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technologically advanced racing cars on the planet, featuring lightweight composite materials and sophisticated electronics designed to assist the drivers in extracting their maximum potential. There aren't too many P1 entries but there is a remarkable diversity among the three cars which are likely to vie for overall honors on Saturday afternoon. Prime among them will be Muscle Milk Pickett Racing's No. 6 HPD ARX-03c driven by Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr. The German pairing's potent 3.4-liter V8powered HPD will be spectacular to watch, especially through the high-speed Esses from Turns Three to Nine. Opposition will stem from Dyson Racing's No. 16 Lola-Mazda, which features a 2.0liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder Mazda MZR engine, driven by experienced sports car racers Tony Burgess and Chris McMurry, and the unmistakable, revolutionary - and brand-new - No. 0 DeltaWing Coupe which will make its debut this weekend in the hands of Britons Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge. f
FIVE CLASSES AND WORLD-CLASS COMPETITION FEATURING MANY OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS NAMES IN THE AUTOMOBILE BUSINESS HAVE FORMED THE BACKBONE OF THE AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES PRESENTED BY TEQUILA PATRON FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS
'WE ARE HOT RODDERS AT HEART, ALWAYS LOOKING TO GO FASTER' - ROB DYSON ...
WINNING TECHNOLOGY DYSON RACING IS CELEBRATING ITS THIRTIETH YEAR IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS CAR RACING THIS YEAR. THE TEAM'S HISTORY IS ROOTED IN EXPLORING THE LATEST THAT SCIENCE HAS TO OFFER AND PIONEERING NEW PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS. TECHNOLOGY PROPELS OUR SPORT FORWARD, PRODUCING THE SPECTACLE THAT BRINGS THE FANS TO THE TRACK AND TUNED INTO THE BROADCASTS
In 2009, Dyson racing was the first team in the American Le Mans Series to use a fuel blended with the biofuel isobutanol. The green fuel can be made from sources like crop waste and non-food plants such as switch grass, and using those materials produces a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline or ethanol. Using biomass can also produce a negative carbon imprint when the carbon dioxide absorbed by the growing crops offsets the emissions produced from being cultivated, processed and burned in engines. When burned in an engine, isobutanol produces carbon
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dioxide, but no SOX, NOX, or carbon monoxide and is much less evaporative than ethanol or gasoline. "Racing has the responsibility to lead by example. Motor racing's DNA is not just about racing," noted Chris Dyson. "It is about pushing the boundaries of future technologies that make their way into regular road-going applications." During this year's crop of international auto shows, the leading auto manufacturers made a point of showcasing the latest efficiencies of smaller engines. Dyson Racing first ran their turbocharged two-liter in-line four-cylinder engine in 2002 and the
following year won the ALMS LMP675 driver's and team championships with the Advanced Engine Research built engine. At the Sonoma race that year, the Dyson Lola was the first LMP675 car to take pole and win overall, winning over the larger Audi R8 LMP900 entry. In 2011, the Mazdapowered Dyson team swept the championship table with five victories overall with their turbo two-liter four cylinder taking home the honors over the Muscle Milk car powered by a naturally aspirated V-12 Aston Martin engine. For years, Dyson Racing has run the lightest and smallest P1 engine in the ALMS. f
'WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN NEW TECHNOLOGY' - ROB DYSON...
f The more mass put in the shock, the
less hydraulic damping is needed because the mass is controlling the movement of the car. So one of the benefits is the ability to use less hydraulic damping, run a softer spring and let the spinning weight smooth out the car's movement. It also provides an aero advantage because the ride height tends to change less, and also helps mechanical grip because the elements that excite and cause the tire contact patch to change shape get smoothed out so the average size of your contact patch is bigger and there is more grip. The inerter shock gives you a higher range of tunability. With the Penske 8780 shock absorber, you have 50 clicks of bleed on the bump side, 50 clicks of bleed on the rebound side and 75 clicks of high speed blow-off. On each side of the piston, there are three bleeds that screw into the
piston that can be tuned and then you have an inner stack of shims and an outer stack of shims within the shock. Basically your inner stack is your high speed control and the outer stack is your low speed control. All this allows you to use the shock to find grip and the spring to support the car. That is the advantage of the inerter shock. You can run softer springs, have more compliance and more low speed mechanical grip, but still be able to control the aero platform at speed and get more aero performance. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May of this year, Dyson Racing debuted the Advanced Engine Research (AER) developed P90 Mazda engine. An update to the P80, the engine features gasoline direct injection. "The P90 delivers more horsepower, more torque, better drivability and better fuel economy. It is a responsive engine with all the inherent
benefits that gasoline direct injection gives you," noted Andrew Saunders, Engineering Manager of AER. "The fueling commands from the ECU are instantaneous and that carries more benefits for a restricted turbo charged engine than it does for any other engine application. In a GDI turbo engine, the fuel cuts you make are as instantaneous as the spark cuts which bring you on a more level playing field with normally aspirated engines. This is very good for traction control and all the drivability events you need on track." From its very beginning, racing has simultaneously pushed the envelopes of speed and technology. And developments never stand still at Dyson Racing. "We have always been interested in new technology," said Rob Dyson, team founder. "That has been a constant for thirty years. We are hot rodders at heart, always looking to go faster." z
s p u n i p r e t s Po
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! s U f o t s e R e h t r o f g n i c a -R
AT THE FIRST 24 HOURS OF LEMONS IN '06, MOST DRIVERS WERE GUYS WHO'D BEEN TOO SLOW, TOO CHEAP, OR TOO CHICKEN TO TRY "REAL" RACING BEFORE... IN OTHER WORDS, TYPICAL GEARHEADS!
hat included series creator Jay Lamm, a longtime auto journalist who loved the idea of racing but hated the seemingly endless costs, hassles and tricky vibes that came with getting started. So Jay created a just-for-fun endurance roadracing series that limited car values to $500 or less, let folks go wheel-to-wheel just on their street license, and pushed away the aggro funspoilers with rules like LeMons 2.4, one that specifically prohibits whiners. Logic says that you can't get much car for $500, and Lamm figured that first race might end up as a full-field DNF within the hour. But it turned out those junkheaps were tougher than that, and now 24 Hours of LeMons is the biggest endurance-race series in the worldsome 9000 drivers participate in its 20–25 giant enduros each year, at major
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tracks including Sonoma Raceway, Road America, Barber, Sebring, and Miller Motorsports Park. Since racing always breeds cheaters, each LeMons event also gets a panel of illtempered judges enforcing the $500 limit. During these pre-race BS Inspections, hardware is scrutinized, Craigslist printouts are studied, and receipts are checked for signs of forgery. Safety items like brakes and the mandatory full cage and race seat don't count, but if the judges don't buy your story on everything else, they hit you with negative penalty laps. At a recent NHMS race, one crew with a particularly bogus story (about buying their car from a junkyard that they happened to own) started 20,000 laps in arrears. A brilliant and hard-fought weekend brought them to -19,438 laps at the checker on Sunday, a finish they wildly celebrated.
What's a good LeMons car? Everything from stretch limos and sturdy Toyotas to butt-wagging Mustangs are common. Since many races sell out well in advance, weird cars and funny team themes give crews an inside track on making the grid. The drivers are equally varied-one recent team featured three racetrack first-timers plus a former Indy 500 winner. What else makes LeMons different? The fact that even though it's real racing, (many events end with the top three cars slugging it out on the same lap), this series is all about fun and camaraderie, not about fights and comparing anatomy. As one ALMS pro who sneaks LeMons weekends in on the side said, "This really makes racing fun again." As if tossing a car around a racetrack ought to be anything else. For schedules, rules, and entry forms, see www.24HoursofLeMons.com. z
'EACH LEMONS EVENT ALSO GETS A PANEL OF ILL-TEMPERED JUDGES...
he International Sports Car Weekend at Circuit of The Americas features the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama participants on the same track as the stars of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr贸n (ALMS). And many of the drivers will aspire to use the skills gained in their current series to catapult them to the professional sports car racing ranks such as the
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United Sports Car Racing Series that will officially hit pavement in 2014. "Circuit of the Americas is an ideal venue for the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama", says Steven Sewell, Director IMSA Development Series. "As part of the global Porsche GT3 Cup onemake community of twenty similar championships, the Austin facility has all the trademarks of a truly international sports car event. We anticipate a competition of epic proportions."
The largest single-make racing series in North America divides itself into Platinum and Gold Cup classes based on differing specifications of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 race cars. Both divisions have proven exciting to fans, pitting young guns against seasoned veterans of the series. The legendary Porsche 911 (celebrating its 50th anniversary this year) defines the series, with all teams working off of the same factory
IMSA GT3 CUP CHALLENGE By Yokohama THE IMSA GT3 CUP CHALLENGE BY YOKOHAMA SERIES HAS COMPLETED OVER HALF OF ITS 16 RACES THROUGHOUT THE 2013 SEASON AT SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS RACE COURSES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, AND IF THE FIRST 10 ROUNDS ARE ANY INDICATION, THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE WILL COME DOWN TO THE WIRE vehicle, with the only differences being setup changes to suit the individual driver styles. The Platinum Cup division features the more powerful 450 horsepower cars produced from 2013-2010, with the Gold Cup division featuring the model year 20051/2-2009 equally robust versions of the GT3 Cup race cars. The categories are readily identified via unique color-coded number boards on the doors, with
Platinum cars sporting black panels and Gold cars featuring yellow panels. In recent years, the series has evolved dramatically in terms of driver diversity and depth of competition. For 2014, the series adds a Masters Championship within the overall classifications to further recognize the accomplishments the more mature drivers aged 45-years and older. The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series opened the 2013
season with a doubleheader event at Sebring International Raceway March 13-16 for the 61st Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Teams followed Rounds 1 and 2 with a trip to the west coast at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In rounds 5 and 6 of the season, teams celebrates IMSA's 'Return to the Glen' with a historic weekend at Watkins Glen International for the 100th GT3 Cup race. f
“THE DELTAWING IS DESIGNED TO BE INCREDIBLY EFFICIENT...”
DELTAWING RACING CARS ACHIEVED TWO HISTORIC FIRSTS AT THE RECENT EVENT AT ROAD AMERICA: THE FIRST RACE LAPS AT THE FRONT OF THE ALMS FIELD FOR THE REVOLUTIONARY PROTOTYPE AND THE FIRST RACE LEAD FOR A FEMALE DRIVER... he race here in Austin will also see another historic first – the debut of the DeltaWing coupe. Boasting half the weight, horsepower and aerodynamic drag – with twice the fuel mileage – of its competition, the radically innovative DeltaWing prototype ushers in a new era of sustainability in motorsports. Racing in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, the DeltaWing makes its first appearance in Texas as part of the International Sports Car Weekend at Circuit of The Americas.
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The DeltaWing represents a major step forward in decreasing motorsport’s carbon footprint; its unique aerodynamic design dramatically reduces the amount of fuel and tires used during a race weekend and gives the car excellent straight line speed. Using this speed and good pit strategy to their advantage, drivers Katherine Legge and Andy Meyrick put the DeltaWing at the front of the field for the very first time in the recent ALMS race at Road America, on their way to a fifth place finish. With her eight laps at the front of the race, Legge
made history: she became the first woman to lead an ALMS race. “Everyone has worked extremely hard on this program and every time we go out we improve,” said Legge. But at Road America, we really proved what the essence of the DeltaWing is all about. Managing Partner Don Panoz’s dream of showing how revolutionary the car is was realized.” “The DeltaWing is designed to be incredibly efficient,” explains Meyrick, who also led eight laps in the race. “This is the way motorsport has to go to
INNOVATIVE DELTAWING remain relevant and the DeltaWing is at the forefront of that. The car has been able to produce the same performance as other prototype cars at half the weight and half the power, which is a phenomenal achievement.” The DeltaWing was originally created as an alternative IndyCar design but when open-wheel organizers chose a more conventional formula, so the team partners looked for a new arena to showcase the car’s unique attributes. The DeltaWing was an international sensation when it premiered in 2012,
first at the renowned Le Mans 24 Hours then in its US debut at Road Atlanta. Petit Le Mans was a triumph for the groundbreaking prototype, proving the concept’s validity with a fifth place finish in the grueling 1,000-mile race. The team partners looked at the revolutionary prototype’s performance and knew that the best place to showcase this innovative technology was on the ALMS circuit. The DeltaWing was placed into the top level of prototype ranks, the P1 class, where it competes against cars with over 500hp and fuel
tanks twice the size of its own. Now, in accordance with the ACO/FIA regulation that 2014 prototype cockpits shall be enclosed, the DeltaWing coupe will make its first appearance on the racetrackhere in Austin. “When I first got in the DeltaWing, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” remembers Legge.” I asked Andy what I should do differently to drive the car. He said ‘don’t look at it before you get in, then you won’t have any preconceived ideas of how it is going to handle!’ It really does feel like a regular race car to drive. f
calendar WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
OAK TREE GRAND PRIX
October 18–20
October 3–5
6 Hours of Fuji
Virginia International Raceway
Mount Fuji Raceway
USA
Japan
PETIT LE MANS 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI
October 16–19
November 7–9
Presented by Mazda
Shanghai International Circuit
China
Road Atlanta
USA
6 HOURS OF BAHRAIN November 28–30 Bahrain International Circuit
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